“Well, he definitely couldn’t trust you. I was right about that,” he smirks, and it’s nothing like Ivan’s. It’s cold and heartless.
“Please, Leonid, I’m begging you.”
“I don’t care if you get on your hands and knees and lick the shit off my shoes, Sorvino. It’s not happening. Now I suggest you leave before I have you shot. The only reason you’ve made it this far is because Ivan made the stupid mistake of ordering us not to harm you. I can have him change his mind.”
The tears roll down my cheek as I walk out of the warehouse. I pretend to walk toward my car when I see a familiar black car. I’m sure it’s Ivan’s. When I’m sure no one is looking, I hurry around the back of the warehouse to see if I can sneak in and see him. I am desperate.
I pause as I reach the enormous open warehouse doors. I can hear Leonid talking to someone around the corner.
“Yes, the dumb bitch thought I’d help her get back to him. She did me a huge favor by betraying him. He’s more vulnerable now.”
“When do we do it?”
“We kill Ivan this weekend,” Leonid says, and I slap a hand over my mouth, my eyes wide. “He’ll never see it coming. He’s an idiot. We need a strong leader.”
“Like you,” his mysterious co-conspirator says. “That’s what this family needs.”
I hurry away, having heard enough. I get in my car and speed to Alessandro’s estate. I don’t wait. I barge into his office, where he is talking to Katya.
“Tori, what the hell?” he says, standing up. “Are you hurt?”
“They’re going to kill him. Ivan thinks his cousin betrayed him, but it’s his brother, who is a cousin but adopted. I don’t have time to explain. You need to warn Ivan.”
Katya comes to me and puts an arm around my shoulders. “Calm down, Tori.”
Alessandro pours me a glass of water and brings it to me. “Alessandro, please. I’ve never asked for anything of this family. Please do this for me.”
Alessandro looks at me sadly. “It’s not our affairs to get tangled up with. He wouldn’t listen to me anyway. I’m sorry, Tori, but you must stay out of it.”
Chapter 26 - Ivan
All I’ve thought about this week is Tori. The touch of her body, the sparkle in her eyes, the way she always tied up her hair. And how she broke my heart. I’ve always put faith in the worst people, but I swear this is the final time. I will not trust anyone outside of the family again.
I thought my heart was dead and gone after Mila. I only had love for Anastasia. Tori brought that love back out of me and made me believe it’s possible to be happy. Not people like us. We don’t get happiness. We get karma for the evil we do to the world.
I thought she was different. I thought she was sweet and innocent and that she loved me.
I was wrong.
I stand in the living room looking out at the pool when Anastasia walks in. I turn to her. “Do me a favor and have your hair and nails done today. I’ve got some serious business to take care of. Take guards with you. I’ll see you tonight for dinner.”
Anastasia looks at me, puzzled, but she just nods. She knows I’ve been grieving over Tori, and I know she has too. She was just starting to bond with her. I wish I could take it all back.
I wait until she leaves before I put my gun in my holster, throw my suit jacket over it, and walk out of the house.
“Want an escort, boss?” Aleks asks.
“Leonid’s sorted it, don’t worry,” I say. “Make sure Ana gets back safely.”
I get in my car and pull into traffic. It doesn’t take me long to reach the pier at the dock Leonid told me to be at. Evgeni is going to pay dearly for what he’s done. I might not hurt Tori because I still love her in a sick, twisted way, but he is not exempt.
I step out of my car, and as I do, someone comes behind me and smacks my head with something hard. Stumbling forward, my arms are twisted behind my back, and my gun is quickly taken from me. Distracted by my thoughts of Tori, I hadn’t seen the guy sneaking up on me. Another person takes my other arm, and I am dragged into a nearby building. They throw me onto a wooden chair and cable tie my arms behind me and my ankles to the legs of the chair.
I look up and try to focus on the person in front of me.
It’s Leonid.
I narrow my eyes. “You.”